Mini Lesson: Where to add your opinion In an IELTS essay
Lesson objective: To know when and where to provide your opinion in IELTS essays.
Taking care of children is probably one of the most important jobs of society and parents should be forced to take training courses showing them how to do so.
To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Training programs for prospective parents should be made mandatory as raising a child is perhaps the single most important role of society. Personally, I disagree with this statement and the following paragraphs shall outline my reasoning for this belief.
Firstly, nobody should ever be forced to do anything against their will. This is the mark of a truly free society which we should all strive to be. However, support for future parents should certainly be made available and offered to them regularly as this is a most difficult and onerous task, especially for those without significant family support. A great example of this approach in action is the UK’s National Health Service who assess each new parents needs and send support workers to individual parents when deemed appropriate.
Secondly, there is no single way to nurture a child through their early years and childhood. The parents are in the best position to judge which way is going to be best for their child as they know their child best. Forcing people to attend a course that teaches one particular style may affect a parent’s judgment negatively and therefore do more harm than good. For example, one child may need to be shown strong discipline from their parents as they are a very loud dominant personality whereas another may need constant encouragement as they are much more introverted personality.
To sum up, freedom and individuality are key reasons why parents should not be required to attend parenting classes. Governments around the world should do what they can to support parents but not force them to do anything against their will.
269 words
Teaching point: Your introduction should only include your personal opinion if the question asks for it, otherwise leave it out completely. You should also restate your opinion in the conclusion aswell, if you have been asked for it. Basically, you are making sure you only do what the question asks you to do and this will help that ensure you get a good band score for task achievement.
You must also make sure that you do not change your opinion/position during the essay i.e. you do not say you agree in the introduction and then that you disagree, or only agree partially in the conclusion. This would lower your band score!
Now, go back to the IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay main page here for more lessons.
IELTS Writing Task 1 (Academic)
Discover how to describe all types of visual data that you may see in this part of the test.
Sshhhhh! Listen closely, here are some valuable tips, techniques and strategies for maximising your listening band score.
IELTS Writing Task 1 (General)
Discover how to write in the correct format and tone for this part of the test.
Learn 'what' to say and 'how' to say it in each part of the test to impress the examiner.
